INFERENTIAL STATISTICS|1

Module 10 PEARSON PRODUCT MOMENT CORRELATION COEFFICIENT

I. Objectives
1. Define correlation analysis and its related terms
2. Conduct hypothesis testing using Pearson r

II. Directions
1. Read and understand the given text.
2. Answer the required exercises and submit online.

III. Exploration of the text

CORRELATION ANALYSIS

Bivariate data are data that involve two variables as different from univariate data that involve
only a single variable. In univariate data, the major purpose of the analysis is to understand the
characteristics of the sample or population as regards to a single variable based on the
descriptive statistics computed such as averages, standard deviations, frequency counts, and
the like. In bivariate data, the purpose of the analysis is to describe relationships of the two
variables involved. One of these two variables is the independent variable and the other one is
the dependent variable.

Independent or explanatory or predictor variable is the variable that can cause the
dependent variable to change

Dependent or response variable is the variable that is influenced or affected by the

independent variable

Correlation analysis is a statistical method used to determine whether a relationship between

two variables exists.

Correlation Coefficient
The correlation coefficient computed from the sample data measures the strength and
direction of a liner relationship between two quantitative variables. The symbol for the sample
correlation coefficient is The symbol for the population correlation coefficient is (Greek letter
rho). There are several types of correlation coefficients but we will only focus on the Pearson
product moment correlation coefficient (PPMC) for sample data, named after statistician Karl
Pearson, who pioneered the research in this area.

Formula:

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Range of the Values of r and its interpretation

Value of Strength of Correlation

+1 Perfect positive correlation

+0.71 to +0.99 Strong positive correlation
+0.51 to +0.70 Moderate positive correlation
+0.31 to +0.50 Weak positive correlation
+0.01 to +0.30 Negligible positive correlation
0 No correlation
Negligible negative
-0.01 to -0.30
correlation
-0.31 to -0.50 Weak negative correlation
-0.51 to -0.70 Moderate negative correlation
-0.71 to -0.99 Strong negative correlation
-1 Perfect negative correlation

Assumptions for the correlation coefficient

1. The sample is a random sample.

2. The data pairs fall approximately on a straight line and are measured at the interval or ratio
level.
3. The variables have a joint normal distribution. (This means that given any specific value of x,
the y values are normally distributed; and given any specific value of y, the x values are
normally distributed. )

Testing the significance of the relationship as described by the correlation coefficient using t –
test:

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Illustrative Example:

1. The following data shows the scores of five students in Statistics and Physics. Describe the
relationship of the two variables. Determine if there is a relationship between the scores in
Physics and Statistics at 0.05 level of significance.
Score in Score in
Student Statistics Physics
( ) ( )
Alfonso 3 5
Frances 9 8
Rafael 10 10
James 12 9
Loida 7 8

Solution:
In this problem, we use Pearson r to describe the relationship of the two variables and
t-test for correlation to test whether there is a significant relationship between the
scores of the students in Physics and Statistics.

Steps Answer
1. Formulate the hypotheses: the H0: ρ = 0 (There is no significant relationship between
null hypothesis and the the scores of the students in Physics and Statistics.)
alternative hypothesis.
H1: ρ ≠ 0(There is a significant relationship between the
scores of the students in Physics and Statistics.)

2. Identify the significance level Test statistic: t-test for correlation

for α. Level of significance: α = .05
• Is this two-tailed or one- Type of test: Two-tailed
tailed? Degrees of freedom (df) = n – 2 = 5 – 2 = 3
• Get the critical values from C.V. = + 3.182
the test statistic table.
• Establish the critical
regions.
3. Compute the test statistic. Using the formula for r:

x y xy x2 y2
3 5 15 9 25
9 8 72 81 64
10 10 100 100 100
12 9 108 144 81
7 8 56 49 64
Σx=41 Σy=40 Σxy=351 Σ x2 = 383 Σ y2 = 334

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5(351) − (41)( 40 )
r=
5(383 ) − (41) 5(334 ) − (40) 
2 2

1755 − 1640 115 115

r= = = = 0.90
(234 )( 70 ) 16380 127 .98

Since r=0.90, there is a strong positive

correlation between the scores of the students
in Statistics and Physics.

Solve for t:

5−2 3 3
t = 0.90 = 0.90 = 0.90
1 − (0.90 ) 2 1 − 0.81 0.19

t = 0.90 15 .79 = 0.90 (3.97 ) = 3.573

4. Make the decision. Since 3.573 > 3.182, the null hypothesis is
rejected.
5. Summarize or interpret the There is a significant relationship between the
result. scores of the students in Physics and Statistics.

[Link]

I. Solve the following:

1. The following data shows the number of absences and the number of quizzes missed by
five students. Test if there is a significant relationship between the two variables.
Use .

Student Number of Absences Number of Missed Quizzes

1 1 1
2 1 2
3 2 4

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4 3 2
5 4 4

2. The following data pertains to the heights of fathers and their eldest sons in inches. Test
if there is a significant relationship between the two variables. Use .

Height of the Father Height of the Son

71 71
69 69
69 71
65 68
66 68
63 66
68 70
70 72
60 65
58 60

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